Analytics & Reporting Comparison Table: Dashboards, BI, Governance, and Scale
| Analytics Platform | Best For | Team Size Fit | Dashboards & BI | Data Modelling / Semantic Layer | Governance & Permissions | Relative Cost | Key Strength | Key Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Looker Studio | Simple reporting & sharing | 1–5 (up to ~10 with limits) | Strong for basics | Weak | Weak | Low | Fast setup, free, accessible | Breaks down as definitions and teams multiply |
| Databox / Geckoboard | Executive visibility | 1–10 | Strong | None | Limited | Low → Mid | Quick KPI dashboards | Shallow analysis, limited scale |
| Power BI | Cross-team reporting | 6–20 (up to 50 with governance) | Strong | Moderate → Strong | Strong with discipline | Low → High | Best value at scale | Sprawl without governance and ownership |
| Tableau | Visual exploration | 6–20 (up to 50 with governance) | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Mid → High | Best-in-class visual analysis | Metric sprawl and inconsistency risk |
| Looker (Google Cloud) | Governed metrics | 15–50 | Strong | Strong | Strong | High | Central definitions, consistent reporting | Requires technical ownership and modelling |
| Qlik Sense | Complex enterprise analysis | 20–50 | Strong | Strong | Strong | High | Powerful exploration plus governance | Higher overhead and learning curve |
| SAP Analytics Cloud | Planning & enterprise reporting | 20–50 | Strong | Strong | Strong | High | Strong finance and planning alignment | Heavy for non-enterprise teams |
| MicroStrategy | Highly governed reporting | 25–50 | Strong | Strong | Very strong | High | Enterprise security and auditability | Less flexible, higher implementation cost |
| dbt + BI tool | Analytics engineering stack | 20–50 | Depends on BI layer | Very strong | Strong when managed | Mid → High | Tested logic and traceable metrics | Requires maturity and dedicated ownership |
